What is this beown dust

[lt_smash]

Tanks been up and running for 2 years, fish are great haven't had any livestock issues but in the last few weeks there has been an extreme amount of brown "dust" in my sump and on my powe heads. There is no signs of it in the tank.
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[jbadd99]

Just fish poo...

 

[porpoiseaquatics]

Yep....looks like something kicked up a bunch of detrius. Do you vacuum your sand? If not, you've got 2 years of this stuff collected...I'd start vacuuming.

 

[lt_smash]

No vacuuming. .. I have a skimmer and use socks now and then.. usually leave the in 3-4 days at a time.

 

[lt_smash]

Meant to say.. I never vacuumed... shouldn't the skimmer catch this? I do 10 gal water changes evey 10-14 days.

 

[tonymission]

lt.smash;999092 wrote: Meant to say.. I never vacuumed... shouldn't the skimmer catch this? I do 10 gal water changes evey 10-14 days.

Skimmer will get it if it makes it to the skimmer. Probably need some more flow to keep detritus suspended.

 

[jennm]

barry_keith;999081 wrote: do not vacuum it all at once though. This could lead to a crash.

Who says?

Yes, vacuuming is important. Too many people ignore this and *that* can lead to a crash.

A skimmer will get some suspended detritus if it makes it through the skimmer but the rest that follows the law of gravity and lands on the bottom of the tank without circulating around, ends up in the substrate.

Some bacteria and tiny fauna will break some of it down but like the book says, "Everyone poops." There is no creature that eats waste that doesn't produce it as well.

Vacuuming is the manual export of all that.

So yeah, if you have 2 years' worth, you need to get busy. You probably can't get the substrate clean 'all at once' or you'd likely end up doing a 100% water change.

You'll never get it all out either - nobody does, but the trick is getting out as much as you can. Also, fanning the rocks, or dusting them with a turkey baster or a powerhead, will kick up detritus in the rocks, and it can either be skimmed, caught in a filter sock or vacuumed up after it falls to the bottom.

What are your nitrates and phosphates like in this tank?

Jenn

 

[jennm]

Not disturbed or not vacuumed? Lots of people stir things up - I guess we should ask lt.smash to specify.

A deep sand bed that hasn't been stirred up is definitely hazmat, but a shallow but dirty sandbed that has been agitated is no risk.

I've gone in and vacuumed plenty of shallow sandbeds that had been badly neglected, with no ill effects.

Jenn

 

[lt_smash]

My pistol shrimp does a good job of stirring things up. Both nitrates and phosphate are near zero. I just tested and they are 1 up from the nottom on the cards.

Sand bed is 3 inches or so

Sand is white

 

[jennm]

Hmm 3" never vacuumed could be tricky. Too shallow to function as a deep sand bed, too deep to function as a shallow one, especially if it's never been vacuumed. Pistol will dig in his territory but how big is the tank?

 

[lt_smash]

65gallon

 

[jennm]

I'd recommend vacuuming, and shop-vac job in the sump.

 

[snowmansnow]

clean it.
i mean, see something dirty.. get it clean...

 

[miami dolfan]

I have the same problem...this stuff is all over my pump, the inside walls of my sump & cabinet and I have tried to vacuum it out. Only problem is that it's as heavy as the substrate in some occasions and always end up losing sand as well. Tried vacuuming it into a sock but gets full instantly. Any suggestions?

 

[lt_smash]

Thanks everyone for the tips.
I have read that most people do not vacuum the said. I will give it a shot about a quarter of the tank for the next several clean outs.

When do you add water back to the tank I also use a powerhead to blow off the rocks and sand so perhaps I'm a little better of it I think.

 

[rdnelson]

lt.smash;999361 wrote: Thanks everyone for the tips.
I have read that most people do not vacuum the said. I will give it a shot about a quarter of the tank for the next several clean outs.

When do you add water back to the tank I also use a powerhead to blow off the rocks and sand so perhaps I'm a little better of it I think.

Not sure where you read that. The easiest way to maintain the sand bed is to vacuum while doing you water changes. Vacuum until you have removed the correct amount of water then replace it with new. You are killing two birds with on stone.

 

[lt_smash]

Google vacuum reef sand and youll find tons of folks who say dont...

 

[rdnelson]

lt.smash;999477 wrote: Google vacuum reef sand and youll find tons of folks who say dont...

I will take your word for it but I don't agree. Do you want to live in a home where the rugs never get vacuumed?

 

[redstang]

I vacuum at least once per month. Sometimes weekly if I have the time. If I do it weekly it's easy to find areas that don't need it as there's no "dust" coming up the cleaning pipe. Dirty areas are cloudy.

Personally, I'd go slowly but I'd do at least 10% of your visible bottom surface each week.

 

[jennm]

We maintained tanks that were up and running for upwards of 15 YEARS, and many that were into 10th or 12th year of uninterrupted operation.

Vacuumed every single one.

How long do the non-vacuumers' tanks last before they crash?

The solution to pollution is dilution - in the form of water changes and manual export.

If you leave the garbage there and never take it out, sooner or later it will crash, period.

But hey, what do I know?

Jenn